MMC Adds Smart Knee Implant To Bolster Total Knee Replacement Offerings

(Las Cruces, NM – October 10, 2024) – Already a leader in total joint replacements, Memorial Medical Center is now the only hospital in our region offering smart knee technology that allows a patient’s care team to remotely monitor a patient's recovery. Robert Schwartz, MD, is in the only orthopedic surgeon in the area, including El Paso, offering this technology to patients.

Zimmer Biomet's Persona IQ, the world’s first and only FDA-approved smart knee implant for total knee replacement surgery, features technology that measures range of motion, stride length, step count, walking speed and other gait metrics. The device does not have a GPS and does not monitor location.

“We’re extremely excited to offer this technology to our patients considering knee replacement surgery. This cutting-edge innovation provides surgeons access to objective kinematic data directly from the implant post-surgery,” said Dr. Schwartz, a highly skilled and experienced orthopedic surgeon who specializes in total joint replacements.

“With remote access to data, your surgeon and care team can measure and track the function of your knee for a more informed recovery,” Dr. Schwartz added. “It really takes the guesswork out of monitoring how a patient’s joint is working after surgery.”

The technology features implantable sensor technology that records and wirelessly transmits a wide range of gait data from the knee implant to a patient’s personal base station at home. The data is then securely delivered to a HIPAA-compliant cloud-based platform and can be accessed by the patient and their surgeon. The device also works with a remote care management platform that tracks pre- and post-operative mobility metrics.

Remote monitoring is particularly a major benefit in rural areas. Patients who live a longer distance from the hospital or clinic may not have to return for some in-person follow-up appointments during recovery if the smart knee data shows positive recovery metrics.